Disadvantaged Communities Research Articles

Decolonial hope and planetary solidarity: Fostering sustainability through African life narratives

ABSTRACT This article argues that an engagement with the life writings of eco-activists from the Global South serve as potential epistemic sources to envision alternative modes of developmentalism, a future grounded in sustainability, and to formulate anti-capitalist ethics. It revisits Ken Saro-Wiwa’s A Month and A Day: A Detention Diary and Wangari Maathai’s Unbowed: A Memoir as significant life narratives that, besides critiquing the colonial and neocolonial models of growth, assert the importance of acknowledging the voices of disadvantaged communities and excluded knowledge systems in order to cultivate an equitable sense of development. The article argues that their life writings, rather than being mere chronologies of their personal experiences, thus emerge as alternative methods of knowledge production and testimonies of decolonial ecological ethics. In making such claims of these life narratives it offers an alternative conception of hope that is more aligned with plural knowledge generation, non-anthropocentric perspectives, and planetary principles.

Assessing air pollution exposure disparities in disadvantaged communities of Greater Boston: A new cumulative environmental justice score system

Abstract Disadvantaged communities in the U.S. experience higher levels of air pollution, leading to increased environmental justice (EJ) challenges. In this work, we combine socioeconomic metrics with spatially interpolated fine particulate matter and ozone concentrations from fifty-five low-cost sensors and nine reference monitors to investigate inequality in air pollution exposure among different population groups in Greater Boston. The results indicate that the disadvantaged groups are exposed to higher levels of air pollution. Air pollution is concentrated in the center of Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, and Everett, corresponding to high population density and anthropogenic activities. We further assess the environmental equality by reconstructing the EJ map for Massachusetts using median household income, percentage of minority, and percentage of limited English speaking as indicators. The EJ blocks are clustered in large cities across Massachusetts. Many communities in Greater Boston are classified as EJ communities due to the high percentage of minorities. Chelsea and Everett face more severe EJ issues, with most of their communities exceeding multiple EJ indicators. Additionally, we introduce and demonstrate a new method for determining EJ communities by utilizing the multi-criterion framework to calculate the cumulative EJ score for every census block, integrating air quality with socioeconomic indicators, and each indicator can be viewed as a policy action. Chelsea, Everett, and Lynn consistently exhibit the highest EJ scores with no improvements over the years. The EJ score system provides the time evolution to assist authorities and the residents in tracking the progress in improving the EJ scores of their communities. The method indicates the strength of the efforts needed to maintain or improve the EJ scores for achieving better environmental justice in the communities, allowing authorities to take immediate actions to improve the environmental well-being of vulnerable communities.

Wildfire risk perception and communication in disadvantaged communities: Insights from Eastern Coachella Valley in Southern California

Wildfire risk perception and communication in disadvantaged communities: Insights from Eastern Coachella Valley in Southern California

Chemistry as a Catalyst for Transforming the Health and Wealth of South Africa.

South Africa's rich natural resources remain a key driver of its chemical industrialisation but are tainted and constrained by its complex colonial history. Thirty years since the advent of democracy in South Africa, deep sociopolitical inequalities are amplified by an intolerable infectious disease burden amongst disadvantaged communities. In that respect, South Africa shares challenges with many other nations in the Global South; there are limited opportunities for the economic development and growth needed to uplift all strata of society. This Viewpoint examines the role of the chemical sciences in South Africa's unique history and the current state of its academic and industrial sectors, with a focus on the intersection of chemistry, healthcare and biomedical research. We argue that the opportunities offered through chemistry research and development, including local manufacturing, should be exploited and that scientific advancements should be tailored to and integrated with the socioeconomic realities of South Africa for an effective and multidisciplinary approach to improving healthcare outcomes. This Viewpoint aims to inspire a renewed focus on the pivotal role of chemical scientists and their broader societal contributions to combating the country's infectious disease burden and shaping a healthier future for South Africa.

Water security in North Carolina’s most economically insecure county: a case study

Abstract Negative health impacts of water insecurity are often felt most in poor and rural communities and communities of color, who are more likely to be underserved by water infrastructure and disproportionately subject to socioeconomic stressors. Despite mandated efforts to allocate significant federal resources to infrastructure funding in ‘disadvantaged communities,’ communities with the most need risk systematic exclusion from access to resources, decision-making structures, and even benefits of research intended to address inequitable infrastructure services and health outcomes in their own communities. This project aims to describe groundwork and preliminary findings from community-engaged environmental research conducted within an ongoing community-based participatory research partnership in Robeson County, NC, a majority–minority county with the lowest median household income of NC’s 100 counties. Semi-structured interviews conducted with community members were analyzed to identify concerns about drinking water security (including safety, affordability, and reliability), perceptions of water quality, averting behaviors taken due to water insecurity, and ideas for improving water security. Findings suggest that there is a high level of mistrust in community water supplies, with perceptions of poor water quality driving a reliance on bottled water. Those relying on private wells expressed greater trust in their water and lower reliance on bottled water. Concerns about affordability were less prominent than those about water quality. Insufficient water reliability (low flow) was mentioned by many respondents, including those with community water service and those relying on private wells. Most supported increasing taxes to improve water security and also recommended increasing communications between water service providers and the public to improve trust. Overall, this work suggests the need for a comprehensive assessment of the quality and reliability of community water services in Robeson County, interventions to address problems identified, and much more engagement with the community about identifying and allocating funding to solve water security problems.

Lessons learned from syndemic HIV research in an immigrant, latinx sexual and gender minority community

The HIV incidence rate in Miami-Dade County is among the highest in the United States, with Latinx sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups experiencing a disproportionate burden. Despite extensive efforts by both private and public sectors to curb transmission and improve pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake, Latinx SGM groups continue to have high rates of HIV and low PrEP uptake compared to SGM groups overall. Using data collected from a biobehavioral study of the socio-structural factors affecting HIV susceptibility and PrEP uptake among Latinx SGM subgroups in Miami-Dade County, this paper shares lessons learned and provides concrete recommendations for tailoring survey research and biospecimen collection among a largely immigrant, socioeconomically disadvantaged community that is especially vulnerable to HIV. By drawing inferences from study data and contextualizing these with community partners, we learned: (1) Large parts of the target community may be unfamiliar with the underlying constructs captured in important HIV-related measures; (2) Cash incentives may shift motivation from intrinsic to extrinsic and lead to poorer data quality; (3) Deviations in Spanish go beyond vocabulary used in different Latin American countries, and more formal Spanish may relay concepts in unfamiliar ways that are unapproachable; and (4) community members may be unfamiliar with survey data collection processes and the protections in place to ensure confidentiality. These lessons and associated recommendations may help improve recruitment, study design, analysis, and community engagement in future studies, building trust and ultimately reducing the burden of HIV in these communities.

Exploring the Association of Area of Deprivation Index (ADI) and cardiovascular risk factors in South Florida

IntroductionCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Major risk factors include hypertension, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. While these cardiovascular risk factors are well-documented, further high-quality research is needed to examine their relationship with the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) in South Florida. As a measure of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, ADI considers factors such as income, education, employment, and housing. This study investigates the association between ADI and cardiovascular risk factors in South Florida, a region characterized by unique health challenges and disparities.AimThis study aims to explore the odds ratio of having cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus in relation to neighborhood demographics in South Florida.MethodsA retrospective quantitative electronic health record review was conducted on patients who visited a primary care health system in South Florida from January 2022 to December 2022. The study population included 96,242 unique patients. Cardiovascular risk factors were identified using ICD-10 codes, and ADI was calculated using the patients' zip code plus four. Logistic regression, odds ratios, and Cochran-Armitage tests were used to evaluate the associations between ADI and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors.ResultsThe most common cardiovascular risk factor was obesity (64.24%), followed by hyperlipidemia (38.84%), hypertension (25.90%), and diabetes (10.04%). ADI was significantly higher in patients with obesity (Mean = 41.99), hypertension (Mean = 43.08), and diabetes (Mean = 44.99) compared to those without these conditions. Logistic regression analysis revealed that individuals in the highest ADI quartile were more likely to have obesity (OR = 1.16; 95% CI [1.16–1.20]), hypertension (OR = 1.47; 95% CI [1.40–1.54]), and diabetes (OR = 1.81; 95% CI [1.70–1.93]).ConclusionThis study highlights the significant association between higher ADI and the prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes in South Florida. The findings suggest that socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods are at higher risk for these cardiovascular conditions. These results underscore the need for community nurses and primary care providers to provide targeted public health interventions and resource allocation to address health disparities and improve cardiovascular health outcomes in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.

P-1927. Utilization of Patient Characteristics and the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) To Evaluate Referral Patterns for Long COVID at a Tertiary-Care Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionally affected socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, with corollary expectation of increased impact of post-acute sequelae in this population. We established a subspecialty Long COVID Clinic (LCC) at VA Northeast Ohio to care for patients with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in 2023. The LCC was advertised system-wide to providers via email and videoconference presentations, and to patients via the facility website. After the first 1/2 year of implementation, an analysis of patients and of referral adequacy in meeting the needs of the catchment area was undertaken. Methods The Area Deprivation Index (ADI) uses census data to rank US neighborhoods by socioeconomic disadvantage and can be a tool in refining delivery of services or healthcare. Neighborhoods are ranked nationally and within-state (state deciles 1-10, with 10 indicating greatest disadvantage). In addition to other health factors, national and state ADI indices were obtained for each patient seen in our LCC between March 2023 and April 2024. Results 70 unique patients (mean age 63) were seen via referral in the 1st 8 months of the LCC (Fig 1). These were 13 (19%) women, 55 (79%) men, 2 (1%) transgender, 10 (14%) Black and 54 (77%) White. The most common comorbidities were psychiatric (57%), hypertension (44%) and cardiac (40%) (Fig 1). The most common presenting complaints were fatigue (73%), exercise intolerance (72%), and dyspnea (52%) (Fig 2). ∼1/4 of LCC patients had experienced severe COVID-19 (Fig 3). The average in-state ADI decile was 5 (range, 1-10). Conclusion Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Do community-based digital health inclusion programmes contribute to tackling health inequalities in disadvantaged population groups?: a qualitative study of experiences of a city-wide programme in the North of England

BackgroundAdvances in digital healthcare and health information provide benefits to the public. However, lack of digital skills together with access, confidence, trust and motivation issues present seemingly insurmountable barriers for many. Such digital health exclusion exacerbates existing health inequalities experienced by older people, people with less income, less education or who don’t have English as a first language. This study examines the role of a city-wide digital inclusion programme in the North of England, which works with Voluntary Sector Community Organisations (VCSOs) to provide digital support to disadvantaged communities (Digital Health Hubs). The aim was to explore if and how Digital Health Hubs contribute to tackling health inequalities, with a specific focus on impacts on service-users and how these impacts are produced.MethodsWe used qualitative semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of service-users receiving digital support, and perspectives of staff working for organisations coordinating or providing digital support (n = 30).ResultsInductive thematic analysis was used to identify four major themes and mapped to ‘Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research’ constructs. These were: programme components, recipient-centred support, impacts on service-users and system-level barriers to digital health services. Findings suggest moderators of implementation are provision of community spaces, social activities and devices and Wi-fi, and recipient-centred support through community understanding, personalised regular support and trusting relationships. Impacts on service-users include improved social and emotional resilience and basic digital skills. Health system-level barriers to digital health services, such as inconsistency in service provision, were also identified.ConclusionsThemes highlight the importance of recipient-centred support by Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations (VCSOs) which centres the unique needs of specific communities. Our data provide policymakers with a model for implementation that could be replicated and scaled-up. Our data add to the public health, primary care and digital health research by proposing an initial programme theory for how Digital Health Hubs may reduce health inequalities, and recommendations for evaluation which consider short-, medium- and long-term outcomes, and contextual factors which are likely to be crucial to Digital Health Hubs’ effectiveness.

Case for Establishing a National Stroke Activation Fee in the United States: Learning From Trauma Centers.

There is a large burden of stroke in the United States, and extensive systems of care have been established to address it. The resources devoted to stroke centers are analogous to those of trauma centers, both sharing many strict requirements for certification, clinical preparedness, quality improvement, data management, and reporting. However, trauma programs partly defray these costs through a trauma activation billing code, a billable fee that is charged for activation of the trauma team under strict criteria. There are potential benefits to establishing an analogous national stroke code activation fee. Although a billable stroke code activation fee may increase financial burden on patients, this may be counterbalanced by the significant potential for individual and societal benefits. Providing additional financial support for stroke systems of care may improve acute stroke treatment, reduce stroke burden and poststroke disability, and reduce inequality by broadening the reach of stroke systems of care to disadvantaged communities. Further evaluation of the costs and benefits of implementing a stroke code activation fee based on that currently used by trauma centers is needed.

Seesawing (dis)connections: Digital parent involvement in a culturally diverse school community

As digitisation of home-school connectivity continues apace, nuanced understandings of the digital capabilities of parents are essential. Yet, there has been considerable homogeneity in the representations of parents, and deficit understandings of digital parental involvement with schools, especially in schools serving diverse and disadvantaged communities. The study reported here addressed these limitations of the extant research by asking how families in a case study school oriented to digital technology, how cultural and linguistic resources impacted home-school connections, and how a learning management system impacted digital inclusion in a diverse school community. Parent interviews were facilitated by interpreters, enabling participation of a culturally and linguistically diverse parent cohort. Parents’ and teachers’ diverse perspectives were analysed. Informed by Actor Network theory, connections between humans and humans, and between humans and hon-human actors (digital and material), were mapped onto a network diagram. Findings show considerable digital engagement and aspiration on the part of parents, which was frustrated by English-only communications from teachers despite Seesaw’s multilingual affordances. We report teachers’ disappointment with low parental uptake of the digital learning management system, and the deficit thinking which led them to assume a lack of digital skills or knowledge. We suggest that such deficit thinking should be challenged by a critical approach which might involve teacher-parent dialogue. Although a learning management system is a technological actor, that actor must be understood within the full context of school-home connectivity, in which schools serve communities and have a responsibility for cultural and linguistic inclusion.

Public Policy for Human Capital: Fostering Sustainable Equity in Disadvantaged Communities

This study presents new empirical findings on the multidimensional barriers that disadvantaged communities must overcome to equitably access quality education and health services. Equitable access to education and health services in disadvantaged communities requires comprehensive public policies that address multidimensional barriers. Through an innovative econometric analysis of primary data collected in 50 rural communities, the most influential factors hindering access to these basic services are identified. This article discusses the most effective public policy strategies for improving access to and the quality of education and health services in disadvantaged communities, and outlines how to implement them sustainably and equitably. The results reveal that a lack of adequate infrastructure, a shortage of qualified personnel, and socioeconomic and cultural barriers are the main obstacles. Based on these findings, a new comprehensive intervention model is proposed, which simultaneously addresses these interconnected barriers. These strategies contribute directly to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education), by addressing critical barriers to equitable access to essential health and education services in marginalized communities. These strategies are based on theories that highlight the importance of investing in education and health for human and economic development, and support the fact that investments in these sectors boost productivity, income, well-being, and equity. The study concludes with practical and applicable recommendations for public policymakers, emphasizing the importance of adapting them to the local context and ensuring the active participation of the beneficiary communities.

Access to further education for a diverse group of ECD practitioners

The South African government has undertaken to expand universal access to Early Childhood Development (ECD) with a particular focus on children from socially disadvantaged communities and with disabilities. This requires training and support of ECD practitioners, such that they are equipped 399with the necessary knowledge and competencies to implement effective teaching and learning approaches at ECD level. This research explored an innovative, inclusive approach to ECD practitioner development in which both Deaf and hearing students were enrolled in an ECD practitioner training program facilitated jointly by New Beginnings (an ECD non-profit training organization) and the Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA). The research scrutinized key aspects of the training program, including how it extended students content knowledge on ECD, their pedagogical knowledge; as well as epistemological access for Deaf students. The findings and conclusions have important implications not only for equipping ECD practitioners with knowledge and skills, but also demonstrates how practitioner training itself can be effectively structured to cater for diversity among trainees.

A Realist Scoping Review of Community Nutrition Interventions in the UK: Implications for the 'Nutrition Skills for Life' Programme.

Nutrition Skills for Life (NSFL) provides training and support for communities and organisations to implement Community Nutrition Interventions (CNIs) that meet identified needs. To inform future NSFL evaluation, this scoping review, using a realist approach sought to determine the underpinning initial programme theory (IPT) for how CNIs support socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) communities to access a healthy diet, as detailed in the protocol doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/D56FK.OSF.IO/D56FK. Reporting standards for realist syntheses (RAMESES) and scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) were used. Four electronic databases and grey literature were searched. Of the 1920 documents identified, 45 were included in the analysis. Data relating to Context, Mechanism and Outcomes were extracted and presented as C-M-O configurations (CMOCs). Documents were assessed for relevance to the research question and usefulness in terms of their contribution towards the IPT. The IPT, underpinned by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, comprises 17 consolidated CMOCs. These are narratively discussed as follows: understanding community needs; consistent nutrition messages; knowledgeable, skilled, confident practitioners/facilitators and practising new skills. Realist research and analysis of CMOCs provided a deeper understanding of how CNIs can be implemented to support SED communities in accessing a healthy diet. Interventions 'worked' when they acknowledged and addressed identified barriers to healthy eating, provided reliable, trusted, easy-to-understand nutrition messages, were delivered by confident, knowledgeable practitioners, and facilitated strategies such as meal preparation. Further realist evaluation to refine the IPT could inform the evaluation of other complex public health interventions.

Roof renewal disparities widen the equity gap in residential wildfire protection

Wildfires are having disproportionate impacts on U.S. households. Notably, in California, over half of wildfire-destroyed homes (54%) are in low-income areas. We investigate the relationship between social vulnerability and wildfire community preparedness using building permits from 16 counties in California with 2.9 million buildings (2013–2021) and the U.S. government’s designation of disadvantaged communities (DACs), which classifies a census tract as a DAC if it meets a threshold for certain burdens, such as climate, environmental, and socio-economic. Homes located in DACs are 29% more likely to be destroyed by wildfires within 30 years, partly driven by a gap in roof renewals, one of several important home hardening actions. Homes in DACs have 28% fewer roof renewals than non-DACs and post-wildfire, non-DAC homes have more than twice the increase in renewals (+17%) compared to DAC homes (+7%). Our research offers policy insights for narrowing this equity gap in renewals for wildfire-prone areas. We recommend increasing financial support for roof renewals and targeted awareness campaigns for existing programs which are not sufficiently emphasized in wildfire strategies, particularly in DACs.

Real-World Particle Emissions from a Modern Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicle during Normal Operation and DPF Regeneration Events: Impacts on Disadvantaged Communities.

We assessed the real-world particulate emissions of a goods movement diesel vehicle, with an emphasis on total particle number and solid particle number emissions at different cutoff sizes. The vehicle was tested on routes in the South Coast Air Basin (SCAB) of California, representative of typical goods movement operation between the ports to warehouses and logistic centers with a mixture of urban and highway driving, as well as elevation change. We evaluated emissions during normal vehicle operation and diesel particulate filter (DPF) active regeneration events. Results revealed small variations in particle emissions between the routes, with particles below 23 nm and even 10 nm being abundant in the exhaust. Both total and solid particle number emissions were about 3 to 246 times higher during DPF regeneration compared to normal vehicle operation, with higher fractions of sub-10 nm solid particles. We showed that typical daily routes for goods movement operation in SCAB, especially the more urban routes, mostly occurred within disadvantaged communities, with minority populations and high indices for poverty, unemployment, and poor education. Our results indicated the vehicles spent a higher fraction of their total time within these areas at low speed and idling conditions, resulting in disproportionately higher exposures to ultrafine particles.

The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Educational Landscape

The digital economy is a big change that comes from innovative technologies, especially the Internet, artificial intelligence, and large amounts of data. This shift has improved learning by making it easier for people to get and get educational supplies. Online platforms like Massive Open Online Courses ( MOOCs ) and learning management systems ( LMS ) provide more people with access to good educational materials. This helps break down the barriers caused by area and money that have made it difficult for some people to get training in the past. The digital divide creates major problems because not everyone has the same access to technology and excellent online. This may make previously existing inequalities worse, especially for disadvantaged communities. Moreover, more people need to be good at using modern technology because kids have to learn how to utilize online websites. Making sure everyone gets virtual learning resources is very important for using the digital economy to help improve education for all. By tackling the problems of uneven access to technology and including online skills in school programs, people involved can create a more loving training program that helps everyone get back and promotes fairness in the economy.

Validation of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) in rural contexts in South Africa

Introduction: Resilience is central to young children’s healthy and happy development. The Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) has been widely used in several countries. However, its construct validity among young children in rural South Africa has not been examined. We investigated the construct structure of the CYRM-R for foundation-phase learners (i.e., grades R/0-3) in rural primary schools in South Africa. Methods: The CYRM-R was translated into the local language Setswana and tested on 1 088 learners attending 10 schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged rural communities in the North West province. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to validate the CYRM-R scale and examine its construct structure. Results: Our findings suggested a two-factor (i.e., personal resilience, caregiver resilience) structure of the CYRM-R with some items removed or reclassified as preferable or relative to other examined solutions. CFA results showed that the optimal model represents a good fit to the data (RMSEA = 0.037, CFI = 0.929, TFI = 0.915), explaining 83.4% of the variance. Conclusion: The Setswana version of the CYRM-R is a reliable and valid measure of resilience in young children in a rural South African context and can be used to assess resilience in young children in Setswana-speaking populations.

Nanomaterial-based synergistic strategies for combating dental caries: progress and perspectives.

Dental caries, as the predominant global oral disease, remains a critical public health issue worldwide, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. However, common caries prevention approaches (e.g., oral health education, mechanical plaque removal, and delivery of fluoride agents) are still insufficient for optimal caries management, and therefore, alternative regimens that can supplement existing strategies are highly warranted. Nanomaterials exhibit considerable potential in combating cariogenic pathogens and biofilms owing to their promising antimicrobial capacity, improved penetration into biofilms, targeted precision delivery, and versatile physicochemical properties. As unifunctional materials are limited in caries management, this review underscores the latest advancement in multifunctional anti-caries nanomaterials/nanomedicines. It highlights the cutting-edge materials developed or engineered to (i)incorporate diagnostic capabilities to prevent caries at an early stage, thus enhancing treatment efficiency, (ii) integrate mechanical "brushing" with anti-caries approaches to mechanochemically eradicate biofilms, (iii) exert antimicrobial/antibiofilm effects while preserving dental hard tissue. The current work also outlines future directions for optimizing nanosystems in the management of dental caries while emphasizing the need for innovative solutions to improve preventive and therapeutic efficacies.

CLUSTERING OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTERISTICS IN SHAPING HEALTHY AGING

Abstract Neighborhoods are pivotal in shaping later life health and well-being. While previous research has primarily examined a single dimension of neighborhood risk factors (e.g., socioeconomic disadvantages), this study proposes a timely shift toward a multi-dimensional perspective of neighborhood characteristics. We aim to explore how multiple neighborhood characteristics synergistically shape various later life health outcomes, including comorbidity, disabilities (ADL), mental health, functional limitations, cognitive health, and epigenetic aging (GrimAge). Using data from the 2014 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study linked to the National Neighborhood Data Archive (n = 8,474), we first applied a machine learning algorithm -- the Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM) method to identify a neighborhood typology based on neighborhood-level socioeconomic status, facilities, services, and hazards. This analysis identified four clusters: affluent neighborhoods, mid-SES with high hazards neighborhoods, high amenity neighborhoods, and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Subsequently, we conducted multilevel regression analyses to examine the association between the identified neighborhood clusters and later life health outcomes. Regression results revealed significant health disparities across different neighborhood clusters. Compared to their counterparts living in affluent neighborhoods, older adults residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods and those in mid-SES with high hazards neighborhoods experienced greater chronic conditions, worse mental health, and more functional limitations. These findings underscore the urgent need for tailored interventions aimed at enhancing service facilities and mitigating environmental hazards in disadvantaged and high-risk communities. Addressing these neighborhood factors is essential for promoting communities that are conducive to healthy aging and supportive of successful aging in place.